Deputies: Man drunk-dialed 911 because drug dealer was mad at him

ST. PETERSBURG — The first two times Gary Alan Pockrandt called 911 early Wednesday, he complained to dispatchers that his cell phone wasn't working, authorities said. Deputies came to his St. Petersburg home and found no emergency.

Three hours later, he called again. This time, he told dispatchers he was upset because his drug dealer was mad at him. After that, he landed in jail.

Pockrandt, 51, was charged with misuse of a wireless 911 system for making the bogus calls.

An arrest report noted that Pockrandt appeared to be intoxicated when he made the calls. He was cooperative the first time deputies came to his home at 5905 39th St. N after the first two calls, authorities said. But not the second time.

Before they took Pockrandt into custody, deputies noted that he had apparently taken his cell phone and smashed it on the ground.

"This was a new phone," an arrest report states. "So it is believed it only dials 911 until it is activated which (Pockrandt) could not do in his intoxicated state of being."